Category: 8th Grade

Hi 8th graders (and 8th grade parents/guardians/at home educators),

You did it! you made it to the end of the week! Day five of Distance Learning in the books! So many exclamation marks!

It was great to see a number of you on Teams yesterday. While the benefits are lifesaving and it’s incredibly important to stay socially distanced, it’s hard. Really hard. Really, really REALLY, REALLY hard. Seeing your faces, hearing your voices, and answering your questions made my day and renewed my motivation to stay distanced (the more we do it now, the sooner things we get back in the classroom, on the field, in the studio, in the movie theaters, at dances, and so much more!).

Thank you for being yourselves and reminding me of what’s important.

Today is a lighter day in Literature – you will have two to three things on your To Do List, depending on your work this week.

1. 1. Daily Reading log (35 minutes required)
   2. Movie Talk check-in (5-10 minutes required)
   3. Monologue preparation (15 minutes – optional)

Let’s get started!

1. Daily reading log (35 minutes – 30 for reading, 5 for reflection)
   • I will check reading logs this weekend, so, if you haven’t sent me your online log, do so today.
   • Remember – once you share your log with me (and give me editing power), you do NOT resend your log ever again! You’re free! Use that extra time to relax, look out the window, take care of other work, make a flip book,  bake cookies, or, my personal favorite, have tiny (socially distanced) dance party.
   • Enjoy your books (and your sweet, sweet dance moves)!
2. Movie Talk check-in (2-10 minutes, depending on what you did yesterday)
   • Everyone needs to:
     • Review the Movie Talk Schedule and double check their presentation date.
     • Review the Sign-up sheet – if your choice is in yellow, it means I still need a completed R-Rated permission slip from you and your parent/guardian.
   • If you did NOT check in with me on Teams yesterday, you need to:
     • Check in with me today sometime between 11:00am – 12:00pm.
       • If you can’t be there at that time, send me an email and we’ll set something up.
     • We will check that audio and visual work on both sides, go over presentation expectations, and answer any questions you might have.
3. Monologue preparation (15 minutes)
   • Optional – If you are ahead on your monologue preparation, or you need a break from it, take the day off!
   • If working on your monologue brings you joy, go for it! Review the suggestions from earlier in the week or see if you can find a helpful resource/idea online. Let me know what you find!

And that, most wonderful students and parent/guardian at-home-educators, is everything. As always, contact me with any questions and have a wonderful weekend!

Good morning 8th graders,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and welcome to day 2 of Distance Learning!

You have two main areas of focus today – reading log and monologue.

1. Reading log
   • Read for at least 30 minutes today and fill out your personal reading log for 3/17.
   • Keep the evidence column interesting and change the type of evidence you use each day. You are welcome to use summaries, photos, character descriptions, and more – just change it up every day. If you are stuck, please refer to the March 16th (Reading Log section) for various evidence ideas.
   • Note: I will periodically check reading logs to see what you are reading and how it is going. Each daily entry is worth points on PowerSchool.
2. Monologue
   • Monologue selection – I am missing monologues from two students in Thomas and seven students in Mansfield. I will be emailing each person shortly to check in directly.
     • For those nine of you that need to select a monologue:
       • review the links from the “Myriad of Monologues” post
       • choose one that speaks to you
       • check the current monologue sign-up sheets (Thomas / Mansfield)
       • email me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org) with your choice
     • For everyone, please review the bullet points below:
   • Monologue preparation – Several of you have sent me rough drafts of your “Questions to guide your monologue” or your annotated monologues. It’s a good start, but all of them need more work. Please review the points below to help guide your preparation process.
     • Your answers to the questions on the worksheet must be thoughtful and thorough – one to two sentences will not be enough. Your monologue should have annotations for every sentence – sometimes more than one. It might be about breathing, tone, body posture, or distinct changes in any of these things. You must take time to consider all the little details about your character and how that impacts the message they are trying to share. Some of this is already in your monologue, but most of it must be inferred by you, after closely reading the text!
     • Think about:
       • the setting of the monologue – Where is it happening? Why there? What will you do in your performance to show us that location? Consider how you would act in the following places – living room, library, diner booth, laundromat, race track, middle school hallway, public bus, private car, classroom, doctor’s office.
       • the physical/emotional traits of your character (and the person to whom they are speaking) – Are they loud? Quiet? Shy? Brash? Exhausted? Jubilant? Broken? Are they taller than the person they are speaking to? Shorter? Same height? Sitting down? Standing up? Exercising? In pain? Relaxed? What other characteristics might your character have? Why are they important? How will it support your performance?
       • what the character wants to achieve by sharing his/her/their thoughts (speaking the monologue) – Do they want help? From who? Are they trying to hurt someone? Help someone? Feel better? Feel worse? Explain something important to themself? To others? Intimidate someone? Express frustration? Prove that they are worthy of love? Demand action? Start a relationship? End a relationship? Why is your character speaking? Figure out their motivation!
       • how this speech impacts the characters who hear it – How does the speaker change? Are they relieved? Broken? Scared? Surprised? Hopeful? Playful? Curious? Frustrated? What about the other character(s)? How do you think they react to the monologue? How do they behave during the monologue? How will that impact your performance?
     • So, please review these prompts, adjust your responses, and use all of it to create the strongest possible performance. Remember, your worksheet and annotated monologue are not due until late March, which means they require a significant amount of thought and effort to complete.
     • Please check in with me at any time for feedback on your work or clarification of expectations. 

That’s all for today! I am working on Movie Talk presentations and what that will look like in Distance Learning mode. I will share more information with you soon!

Good luck and remember to get outside and enjoy the sunshine at some point!

Hi 8th graders,

Welcome to day one of distance learning and thank you for being here!

I am proud of all of you for your willingness to learn in a new way and the persistence, positivity, ingenuity, and growth I know you will demonstrate in the weeks ahead. When it gets tough, remember, I might not be with you physically, but I’m still your teacher! If you ever have questions, suggestions, ideas, or just a really good book recommendation, I am always available via email (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org) and will be most responsive Monday – Friday from 9am to 3pm.

For today, you have two main areas of focus for Literature – monologues and starting your daily reading log.

• Monologues
  1. If you haven’t picked a monologue, you need to do so today. Check the list of monologues already selected for your class (Thomas and Mansfield) to make sure yours isn’t taken, then email me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org) with the name of your selection.
  2. Read over your monologue, and any additional information provided.
  3. Thoughtfully and thoroughly complete the “Questions to guide your monologue” worksheet
     • This will help you understand who your character is and why this speech is important to him/her/them, both of which affect the way you will perform your monologue!
     • Note: You need to download and type your answers in the Word document so you can submit your work electronically.
  4. If you are done with steps 1-3, begin to annotate your monologue with your performance ideas. We practiced this in class with “Almost 16”.
     1. Pay particular attention to the changes in tone, topic, or thoughts, as dictated by the content or how you choose to perform it.
     2. You can use these changes to break up your monologue and make it easier to memorize (and perform) in the weeks to come!

• Daily reading (includes weekends)
  1. Purpose: The benefits of reading are many and wonderful. Sometimes we forget all the amazing things we gain from reading. Luckily, we have a lot of time on our hands right now, time that can be well spent with books!
  2. Instructions:
     1. Make a copy of the “ReadingLog 2020 Template” I shared with you on Office,  rename it with the first letter of your first name and your entire last name, then share the new document with me. For example, my reading log would be saved as “GRzegocki ReadingLog 2020”. If all goes according to plan, I will end up with 109 reading logs, one for each 7th and 8th grader I teach, by the end of the day.
     2. Read at least 30 minutes from any book you choose. It should be appropriately interesting and challenging for you. Let me know if you need some help finding a book!
     3. Fill out the reading log you created and shared with me in Step 1.
     4. The “Evidence” section of the reading log is flexible and I’ve listed some options below. Let me know if you have other ideas!
        1. Record a quote that you liked or stuck with you, and explain why you liked it or how it connects to the story.
        2. Write a one- to two-sentence summary of what you read.
        3. Describe an important character that showed up in your reading.
        4. Draw a picture/comic relating to what you read, anything you consider to be important, for example a scene, the setting, a character, or an object that impacts the plot.
        5. Insert a picture of you reading (this can be as simple or creative as you like – see my sample entry 😁)

Have fun!

That’s everything for today. Please contact me with any questions.

Hi 8th graders,

Remember, when selecting a monologue, choose something that:

• resonates with you (e.g. connects with your personal experience)
• plays to your strengths (e.g. comedy, drama, being quiet, moving around, etc.)

If you are looking for a monologue for your project, check out some of these links:

• 52 Monologues for Teens
• Middle School Monologues
• Monologue Machine – Make sure to use the filters (genre, age range, etc.) to find one that is right for you!
• Mix of monologues organized by gender (you can use any monologue, regardless of gender)
• Monologues organized by the skills the help you demonstrate (comedy, intense emotion, physicality, etc.)

If all else fails, trying searching for a monologue with particular elements you want to include (e.g. “short comedic, teen monologue” or “middle school monologue with intense drama” or “middle school monologues about friendships” or…you decide!)

Go forth and find your monologues!